Hello, My Name is Petey Introducing the new puppy.
Even before we brought home new puppy Petey, our first thought was how would we make sure it goes well between him and Ernest? "I'm so cute. How could anyone not adore me?" Ernest is almost 9 years old. Petey was almost 9 weeks old. Would they like each other? Would Pete be too much for Ernest? Would Ernest be too rough on Petey? The first thing we did was walk them together in a neutral area. Ernest gets along well with other dogs so I didn't feel too concerned that he'd have a problem. He and the puppy walked well, mostly doing their own thing. Then we let them loose in the fenced yard together. When all went well we brought them inside. Luckily Ernest is a very mellow older guy. In the house, we supervise all interactions. At first Ernest was mildly interested, then he seemed to say, "Okay, he's small, he's cute I guess...now take him back." The puppy enjoyed following Ernest around and biting his tail. Sometimes we interpreted Ernest's ...